Minor girl dead, 6 of same family injured

A minor girl was killed and six others of the same family were injured, some of them critically, when the car they were travelling in was hit by a speeding truck.

The incident occurred in the Kharikashuli area under Bishnupur police station in Bankura late on Saturday night. Police said that seven members of a family, including the deceased girl, were travelling to Kharagpur from Durgapur that night. When the car was crossing Kharikashuli area near camp number III of Bishnupur police station, the driver of a speeding truck lost control of his vehicle and it collided head-on with the car. The local residents, alerted by a loud thud, rushed to the scene of the accident and found the passengers of the damaged car screaming for help. The locals rescued the injured victims and rushed them to Bishnupur District Hospital late on Saturday night, where the 7-year-old girl was declared brought dead by doctors. The other injured persons were shifted to a hospital in Durgapur as their condition was serious. Locals told the police that the truck driver fled the spot along with his vehicle immediately after the accident.

Police have started a probe in this connection and were conducting raids to nab the absconding driver.

According to the preliminary investigation, police suspect that the truck was moving at a great speed, as a result of which the driver could not control his vehicle when the car came in front of it.

In a similar incident, four persons were injured when a car and an auto-rickshaw collided head-on near Park Circus bridge number 4 on Sunday noon. Police said that two passengers and the auto-rickshaw driver were injured in the accident. The driver of the car also suffered injuries. The victims were all taken to the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital where they are currently undergoing treatment. Witnesses told the police that at around 1.30 pm, the car was on its way to Bondel gate from Park Circus bridge number 4 when it hit the auto-rickshaw coming from the opposite direction. The auto-rickshaw involved in the accident plies between Hazra and Chittaranjan. After being informed, the police reached the spot and started an inquiry. CCTV footages are being scanned.